Partner Konoka
by Hawk
Summary: What if Konoka got fed up with the recurring marriage meetings and vented about it to her grandfather? What if Negi showed up a little earlier to his teaching assignment? What sort of amusing mishaps might occur then? Well, here's the Hawkstyle version of
1. One

Mahou Sensei Negima - Partner Konoka 

Partner Konoka PG-13  
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson 

Summary: What if Konoka got fed up with the recurring marriage meetings and vented about it to her grandfather? What if Negi showed up a little earlier to his teaching assignment? What sort of amusing mishaps might occur then? Well, here's the Hawk-style version of it!

Disclaimer: Mahou Sensei Negima, Mahora Academy and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.  
If the layout looks screwy or symbols seems to be missing, you're probably reading the quickedit-mangled version of this fic on ff dot net, if it grates on your nerves too much, read it on hawksgalaxy dot com or something.

Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)  
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860, MSN Messenger or through e-mail as iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existance more then I'd like. More stories are available at my nifty lil' site at hawksgalaxy dot com or by clicking on my handle up above.

"speech"  
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers  
/thoughts/  
-/telepathy/-  
-translation-  
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+

Writer ramblings 

Where you guys aware that ff dot net didn't have a Mahou Sensei Negima section up until now? That is a crime of the worst fashion possible! The manga is simply awesome and the anime only slightly less so. There's a couple of msn-fics around on ff dot net, but finding them can be a real bitch! Hence, I decided to get off my lazy ass and make an effort to change all this. Trouble is, in order to request a new category, one has to have a fic ready to be published, which I did not have. I didn't even have any fics in the works, which is very unusual for me.

So, once one decides to sit down and write a msn-fic, what to write about? Well, three ideas came to mind pretty much instantly. Even if Asuna has a strong resemblance to his big sister, I've always found it kinda odd that Negi would latch on so strongly to her, especially considering how she treats him in the early chapters. ( Just what the heck is up with anime males getting hung up on abusive girls? ) So, one of the three stories that I started working on was 'Go Magical Girl Nodoka', where Negi latches onto Nodoka instead. The second was this one, where Negi forms the initial connection with Konoka instead of Asuna. The third idea that came to me, was what if Negi decided that looking like a nine-year old never would work out and thusly he took advantage of the age-illusion pills right from the beginning, keeping the fact that he's so young from all his students? That idea was what led to 'Adult Sensei Negima'.

But the idea that had the most appeal to me is the one I'm basing this fic on. Thusly, I decided to put the other two aside for a moment and focus on this, thinking that if ff dot net just gets a Negima-section, other writers will get cracking and publish loads of cool Negima-stories for me to enjoy. :P

And if anyone wonders just why my stories are so weird, well, I was listening to the Kill Bill soundtrack when I started writing this particular story. :)

Writer buggers off to enjoy the summer sun 

* * *

Chapter One:

-Oh, what a cute little foreign boy! What are you doing here all alone, little boy?-

Negi looked up from his book and focused a bewildered glance at the woman addressing him. He wracked his memory for what little Japanese had managed to stick in the three days he'd studied it, but all he managed to translate was that this woman had said something about 'boy', 'little' and 'alone'.

-Sorry, Japanese good not. Understand not, sorry. Negi stuttered out in halting Japanese.-

-Oh, how cute! You're even learning the language! What a good boy!- the woman exclaimed cheerfully, and then her forehead scrounged up as she appeared to struggle with something. "What are you doing here all alone, boy? Are you lost? Where are your parents?" the woman asked in English that while slow and accented, was much better then Negi's Japanese.

"Oh, no. I'm not lost." Negi assured the woman, happily switching to his native English. "I'm studying Japanese, listening to people talk while I read about the language, to learn more quickly." he explained and held up the two books he had in his lap. One was an English - Japanese dictionary and the other was a book on Japanese grammatics and sentence structures.

"Oh, then I won't disturb you in your studies any longer. Have a good day, boy." the woman wished him, bowed and as he returned her bow with one of his own and a stuttering 'goodbye' in Japanese, she smiled one last time and then left.

"What a nice lady." Negi said to himself and lowered his gaze to the dictionary again.

He had been worried at first that perhaps it was a little too early to go to Japan, but he was starting to feel better about it by the minute. It had been hard to part from his sister and his friend Anya, but he'd steeled himself and decided to go. Which had been one of the hardest decisions of his life. All the way up until he got onto the plane to Japan, he'd constantly considered turning around and stay at home for as long as possible.

He had been SO close to staying at home until the last possible moment. Heck, he'd even checked the plane and train schedules and reached the conclusion that he could stayed home long enough that he could get to school only fifteen minutes before starting his first class and actually considered it!

No, it was probably for the best that he'd left already or he might never have gone off to Japan at all!

He pulled out his cell phone, looked down at it and frowned, Takamichi still hadn't returned his call. Perhaps the older man wasn't even at home! He sighed and put the phone away, wondering what to do. He had counted on being able to stay with Takamichi, at least up until he'd gotten his first pay check. He had some savings and could afford to stay at a hotel, but it wasn't exactly his first choice. He sighed again and looked up from the book and up into the sky, watching the clouds drift on by. The park he was seated in was very nice, not up to par with the welsh countryside of course, but nice none the less.

"Perhaps Takamichi is at school?" Negi wondered out loud to himself and closed his books, rummaging around one of his pockets until he found the letter of acceptance that the schools principal had sent him. He double-checked the address, then stashed away the letter and his books, rose and started walking towards the nearest train station.

* * *

"Wow!" Negi mumbled out loud to himself, looking out over the enormous campus. This school was even larger then Oxford University back in Great Britain. Larger even then the magic university he'd been enrolled in for the last seven years. Not that he could tell anyone that, so he'd gotten some fake papers from the magic university that said that he'd graduated from Oxford university and taken a few trips there to familiarize himself with the school, in case someone asked him any questions about it.

But this place, Mahora Academy... It was awesome! Great open spaces, huge buildings, a park-like environment, imposing statues and grand fountains. Not to mention the gargantuan tree that seemed to catch his eye whenever his gaze tried to pass it by. He looked down at the map and swallowed, he couldn't even see all of it from where he was standing. There was some big island, a large forest, a Shinto temple and even more buildings.

"Amazing..." he muttered and shook his head. Now he was even more pleased that he'd went to Japan so early. If he hadn't, he'd likely have gotten lost trying to find his way to his classroom. Probably wouldn't even have found the principals office without help, from the looks of it. At least not in time for his first class, not without help. But now, he had more then two weeks to get used to the place, learn the language and prepare for his first class. He looked down at the map and eventually managed to figure out more or less where he was standing on it and guesstimate the general direction of the administrative building where he could hopefully find the principal working despite the summer vacation. Perhaps he could even find someone who could tell him where Takamichi was at the moment.

After a couple of false turns, he found his way inside the administrative building, where the pretty female receptionist greeted him and showed him the way to the principal's office.

-Ah, you must be Negi-kun.- the principal greeted him. -Nice to meet you.-

-Sorry, Japanese still bad, only learning just begin. Sorry understand very little.- Negi apologized.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Negi-kun. I heard that you were a fast learner, you'll have it down pat before you start teaching your students, right?" the principal asked.

"Yes, sir! I'll study hard!" Negi assured the principal.

"That's what I wanted to hear." the principal replied. "So, coming to Japan as a teacher for your training. What a troublesome assignment. Well, in order to teach here, one first has to go through an internship. So, from when school starts in two and a half weeks until March, you'll be an intern teacher here. After that, we'll see."

"I understand, principal. I'll do my best!" Negi exclaimed.

"It's a very difficult assignment, Negi-kun." the principal warned the young mage. "If you fail, you'll be sent back home. No second chances. Understand, Negi-kun?"

"Yes, I understand. I want this chance more then anything. Please give me this chance, principal!" Negi pleaded with the older man.

"Ho, ho, ho. The enthusiasm of youth." the principal chuckled. "Very well, Negi-kun. I wish you the best of luck in your new assignment. Just make sure that nobody finds out that you're a mage, or you'll be turned into an ermine!" he cautioned Negi with a mischievous wink. "Come, I'll introduce you to our schools guidance counsellor, Shizuna-kun." the principal instructed and slowly rose, though he never got any further then that as the door was thrown open, tossing Negi who had just been about to hold it open for the older man aside with a pained grunt.

-Grandfather! How could you do that to me! He was thirty-eight years older then me!- a female voice demanded as a young girl dressed in a beautiful kimono strode into the room, marching right up to the principals desk and slamming a folder down on it.

-Konoka-chan, I was just...- the principal started.

-Thirty-eight! Konoka wailed. When I'm twenty, he'll be fifty-eight! How could you!-

-I just want to make sure that you'll be well taken care of once I'm gone. the principal insisted.-

-This one could be dead before you are, grandpa! He coughed his way all through the omiai.- Konoka admonished her well-meaning grandfather.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow..." Negi whimpered as he slowly got back onto his feet, interrupting the 'conversation' between Konoka and her grandfather.

-Eh?- Konoka exclaimed, then looked over at the door and then over at where Negi had been lying, as well as the way he nursed a sore spot on his forehead. -Oh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!- she apologized, bowing deeply with scarlet cheeks as she realized that she had interrupted something and on top of that, injured her grandfathers guest.

-Eh, problem no.- Negi stuttered out as he dusted himself off and bowed in return. -I'm Springfield Negi, I'll be in your care from now on.- he added, having learned certain phrases well enough by now to use them.

-Konoka-chan, this is Springfield Negi-kun. He's the new English teacher and your new homeroom teacher. He's only just getting used to Japanese, so you can practise your English with him until he's gotten used to speaking Japanese.- the principal instructed.

-Eh? Teacher?- Konoka exclaimed, looking over at Negi with a stunned expression. -Wait a minute, isn't he a little too young to be a teacher?-

-Negi is very bright, don't worry. He's already graduated from the Ma... From Oxford University. He's qualified to teach, even if he is young.- the principal replied. "Negi-kun, this is my granddaughter Konoe Konoka-chan." the principal introduced his granddaughter, switching to English for Negi's benefit.

"Oh, yes. I'm Konoe Konoka, pleased to meet you, Springfield-sensei!" Konoka introduced herself in very passable English, only slightly accented, as the principal suddenly got a thoughtful expression on his face. He'd been trying to set Konoka up with older men, so that they could protect her well from her enemies. Mages, one and all of them. But here was a mage closer to her own age, he was very young and inexperienced, but from what he'd heard, very powerful none the less. He'd be teaching here for a while and had time to learn, get the experience he currently lacked. As long as Konoka studied here, she would be protected by others and once she graduated, well, if she was married to Negi by then, she could be protected by him.

He almost opened his mouth right then and there to ask Negi if he had a girlfriend, when he recalled the betrayed expression in Konoka's eyes as she stormed into his office. She probably wouldn't take well to his meddling at the moment, so he kept his mouth shut and formulated another plan.

"Konoka-chan, since you don't have anything special to do for these last couple of weeks before the new term starts, could I ask you to show Negi around campus and help him practise his Japanese?" he asked and Konoka turned to look considering at Negi for a few moments. "Of course, I understand if this would make you too busy to partake in any more marriage interviews while you're guiding Negi around, even if I do have another couple of good prospe..." he started to add, but he was cut off by his granddaughter.

"I'll do it! Gladly!" Konoka exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Oh, I'm sorry Negi-kun, but we're doing some renovations in the teachers dorm at the moment, so we don't have any rooms to spare for you just yet." the principal lied while chuckling mentally. He glanced down at his desk and browsed through a rooster for a couple of minutes, before he sighed. "It doesn't even look as if we have any spare rooms in the student dorms either."

"Oh, that's okay, I was going to ask Takamichi if I could stay with him anyway." Negi assured the principal.

"Takahata-kun? He's on a business trip to Kyoto, I'm afraid. He won't be back for another ten days." the principal replied, glad to have that threat snipped in the bud before he could implement his own little scheme. "Konoka-chan, could you let Negi-kun stay in your and Asuna-chans room temporarily, until renovations are done in the teachers dorm? Negi could practise on his Japanese while you and Asuna practise on your English."

/No marriage interviews! No marriage interviews! No marriage interviews/ Konoka cheered mentally, before she snapped out of it as she realized that her grandfather had asked her a question. A weird question, granted, but... She looked over at Negi. Teacher or not, he was only a little boy. A cute little boy. If he'd been a grown up, it would have been another matter entirely, but this she could deal with.

"Sure, that's a good idea!" she agreed enthusiastically. "Plus, he's so cute! I don't think Asuna will mind!"

"That's good." the principal said. /Jackpot/ he cheered mentally. Once Negi got to know Konoka, surely he'd get interested and the foundation for a future relationship would have been created. "Well, I was going to have Shizuna-kun show you around the academy, Negi-kun. But... Konoka-chan, can you show Negi around the campus instead?"

"Sure, grandpa!" Konoka agreed cheerfully, still on a no-marriage-interview-high, inordinately pleased at not having her last two weeks of vacation ruined by a series of marriage interviews.

"Oh, Negi-kun. Here's the class rooster. Study it well before school starts. Takahata-kun left some notes for you in it, I think." the principal added and handed Negi a thin leather-bound book.

"Oh, thank you, principal!" Negi gushed as he accepted the book.

"It was nothing. My door is always open if you want anything. Shizuna-kun can also answer any questions you might have about the school and your students. Good luck, Negi-kun." the principal finished.

"Thank you, principal. I'll work hard, I promise!" Negi swore, then followed Konoka out of the room.

The End! ( For now... )


	2. Two

Partner Konoka PG-13  
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson

Summary: What if Konoka got fed up with the recurring marriage meetings and vented about it to her grandfather? What if Negi showed up a little earlier to his teaching assignment? What sort of amusing mishaps might occur then? Well, here's the Hawk-style version of it!

Disclaimer: Mahou Sensei Negima, Mahora Academy and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine.  
If the layout looks screwy or symbols seems to be missing, you're probably reading the quickedit-mangled version of this fic on ff dot net, if it grates on your nerves too much, read it on hawksgalaxy dot com or something.

Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)  
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860, MSN Messenger/E-mail as iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existance more then I'd like. More stories are available at my nifty lil' site at hawksgalaxy dot com or by clicking on my handle up above.

"speech"  
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers  
/thoughts/  
/telepathy/  
translation  
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+

Previously, on 'Partner Konoka'

"Konoka-chan, could you let Negi-kun stay in your and Asuna-chans room temporarily, until renovations are done in the teachers dorm? Negi could practise on his Japanese while you and Asuna practise on your English."

/No marriage interviews! No marriage interviews! No marriage interviews/ Konoka cheered mentally, before she snapped out of it as she realized that her grandfather had asked her a question. A weird question, granted, but... She looked over at Negi. Teacher or not, he was only a little boy. A cute little boy. If he'd been a grown up, it would have been another matter entirely, but this she could deal with.

"Sure, that's a good idea!" she agreed enthusiastically. "Plus, he's so cute! I don't think Asuna will mind!"

"That's good." the principal said. /Jackpot/ he cheered mentally. Once Negi got to know Konoka, surely he'd get interested and the foundation for a future relationship would have been created. "Well, I was going to have Shizuna-kun show you around the academy, Negi-kun. But... Konoka-chan, can you show Negi around the campus instead?"

"Sure, grandpa!" Konoka agreed cheerfully, still on a no-marriage-interview-high, inordinately pleased at not having her last two weeks of vacation ruined by a series of marriage interviews.

"Oh, Negi-kun. Here's the class rooster. Study it well before school starts. Takahata-kun left some notes for you in it, I think." the principal added and handed Negi a thin leather-bound book.

"Oh, thank you, principal!" Negi gushed as he accepted the book.

"It was nothing. My door is always open if you want anything. Shizuna-kun can also answer any questions you might have about the school and your students. Good luck, Negi-kun." the principal finished.

"Thank you, principal. I'll work hard, I promise!" Negi swore, then followed Konoka out of the room.

Roll credits

* * *

Chapter Two:

"Are you sure that it's okay for me to enter here, Konoka-san?" Negi asked nervously as he shifted from foot to foot in the doorway leading into the girl dorms.

"Grandfather said it was, so I imagine that it is. You are a teacher after all, Negi-sensei." Konoka responded after a few moments, though she had to admit that she hadn't really paid that much attention at all to what had been said as she was still on an emotional high after having been told that all marriage meetings were off while she functioned as Negi's guide. And once that was over, the normal school year would begin, significantly lessening the time her grandfather could devote to arranging these silly nonsensical things.

Of course, the glass of wine she had been allowed during dinner hadn't exactly done much to assist her mental clarity either. Especially not since she had managed to get it refilled without anyone noticing it, figuring that she would be going to need it to get through the day. /Really, setting me up with an old man. What was grandfather thinking/ she mentally fumed.

"O-okay." Negi responded and took a deep breath, then he crossed the doorway and followed Konoka around as she showed him the dorm. "It seems quiet." he remarked after a couple of minutes.

"Not many students beside me and Asuna are here yet." Konoka replied. "School is still two weeks off after all."

"I see." Negi replied and frowned. /So how come there weren't any free rooms/ he wondered, but shrugged it off. Perhaps they had all been assigned and students had started to move in already. After all, Konoka was here, wasn't she?

"Well, here we are." Konoka announced and unlocked a door, holding the door open for Negi who slowly walked into the room and looked around. "Asuna?" she called out, but got no response. "I guess she's still out." Konoka stated.

"Who's Asuna, Konoka-san?" Negi asked.

"My best friend. We're roommates." Konoka replied after a few moments, suppressing what felt like a stab in her heart as she considered Setsuna, her former best friend, and how distant she was these days. She had been thrilled when Setsuna had come here, but it seemed as if Setsuna had some sort of grudge against her now, barely speaking to her.

"That must be great!" Negi enthused, thinking about how great it would be to have one of his friends with him. Coming to a new country and leaving all that he knew behind was a huge step. He couldn't imagine what had gone through the mind of the ones who had given him this assignment, sending somebody not even in their teens abroad like this! On the other hand, it was a tremendous opportunity and if he did well on this assignment, surely whatever came next would be a piece of cake! "Living with your best friend and all." Negi continued happily, wondering what it would be like if Anya and Nekane had been able to come with him to Japan.

As it was, he'd barely had time to say goodbye to them. But in the end, he decided that getting some experience with living in Japan before starting to teach was more important for his chances of success then lazing about back home.

"Yes, it's great." Konoka agreed.

"Are you sure that she won't mind me staying here?" Negi asked.

"Why would she? You're so cute!" Konoka asked and pulled Negi into a friendly hug, before she wrinkled her nose and jerked away, holding him at arms length. "Eh, Negi-sensei... How long has it been since you last had a bath?" she asked as Negi shrunk under her scrutiny.

"Uh... I was travelling all of yesterday, packing all of the day before that... Uhm... Three days?" he hesitantly offered.

"Well, then I'm showing you the baths next!" Konoka announced and let go of his shoulders. "Get your toiletries, Negi-sensei." she requested as she rummaged around the room for her own.

"Ah perhaps I should..." Negi hesitantly started to protest. He really disliked baths, but didn't quite know how to put it without coming off like a dirty slob, which didn't at all fit with his perception of himself as a proper English gentleman.

"Come on, Negi-sensei!" Konoka interrupted him, staring demandingly at him with a small basket filled to the brim with various hygiene products in her arms. Negi hesitated for a few moments, then shrugged and opened his backpack, bringing out a bottle of shower cream and a bottle of shampoo, which was the extent of his supplies for such an endeavour.

He reluctantly followed Konoka through the building and the two of them soon found themselves standing in front of a large ornate door with kanji on it. 'Grand' was all he managed to understand, as he had yet to master the complex inner workings of written Japanese.

He had no problems whatsoever understanding the female figurine on the door however.

Konoka opened the door and stopped as she noted that he wasn't following her.

"Hm? Come on, Negi-sensei." she urged him on, holding the door open for him.

"Uh, where's the gents?" Negi inquired.

"This is an all-female school, silly. There isn't one." Konoka chuckled and beckoned for him to follow her.

"Ah... ... I'll just wait until you are done, then." Negi declared, then gasped as Konoka went back, grabbed his right arm and pulled him with her into the changing room. "Hey! Wait! Konoka-san!" he protested.

"Don't be silly, Negi-sensei. I don't mind." Konoka assured him as she dragged him along, the door closing behind them with a particularly ominous sound that caused a cold shiver to run down Negi's spine.

"But... But... But..." Negi stuttered.

This was completely unacceptable! He was a proper English gentleman! Granted, he didn't quite know what that entailed, but entering a female locker room surely wasn't part of that, was it? He knew that Nekane had planned on letting him know all of these things before he went, but after he decided to leave early, there just hadn't been enough time for that.

Then again...

He had taken baths with Nekane and Anya before, hadn't he? In fact, all his baths had been taken in the company of others. Usually after they had forced him to bathe, as he usually just took a quick shower instead of a bath. His forehead scrounged up for a few moments. /That's right. I have bathed with Nekane and Anya. Since Nekane never has said anything, indeed, even forced me to do so, it must be okay./ he reasoned as Konoka pulled him over to a bench and forced him to sit down on it.

She walked over to a pile of towels and grabbed four of them, handing him two with a friendly smile.

"There you go. Get ready, Negi-sensei." she instructed him and walked to the other side of a row of metal lockers, from where he soon heard the rustling of clothes being removed.

He hesitated for a few moments, but started removing his clothes with a faint sigh. It appeared as if there was no getting out of this and Negi soon found himself naked, wrapping one of the towels around his waist. He hadn't brought any swim trunks, figuring that he could always buy things like that here in Japan rather then bring some old ones with him, so he had to go commando.

"Are you ready, Negi-sensei?" Konoka asked him from the other side of the lockers.

"Yes, Konoka-san." he called back and moments later, she walked around to join him, a towel wrapped around her body and the other held loosely in her left hand.

"Great! Let's go then, Negi-sensei." she responded and her right hand darted out to clasp his own, pulling him with her out of the changing room and into the most impressive baths Negi had ever seen. His eyes bulged as he looked around the immense room. There were eight large pools of varying sizes, trees had been planted indoors and Negi found himself stunned speechless. "This is the Grand Bathhouse of our dorm. It can accommodate over a hundred people at the same time." Konoka cheerfully explained.

"Wow..." Negi breathed, staring out over the incredible sight in astonished silence for a full minute before he was pulled from his silent observations.

"Well, come on. Time to get clean!" Konoka enthused and Negi turned around in the direction of her voice, only to choke at the sight that greeted him. Konoka was seated on a simple pail, the towel resting on a bench next to her as she upended a bucket of water over her naked body.

"Gck!" Negi coughed and instantly turned around, his cheeks furiously red.

"Negi-sensei. Don't make me come over there..." Konoka told him after fifteen seconds of silence.

"But... Bu-b-bu-but you're naked!" he stuttered.

"Wha... Oh. ... Oh! How precocious!" Konoka exclaimed with a wide grin. "Already noticing girls, Negi-sensei?" she asked.

"No! Not at all!" Negi insisted, still facing the other direction.

"Really?" Konoka asked.

"Really! I'm an English gentleman after all." Negi assured her.

"Great. Then it's not a problem. Come on then." Konoka continued, chuckling under her breath as Negi gulped, realizing that he couldn't go back on his words now without letting on that he had noticed her. He slowly turned around and walked over to a second pail, his left eye closed so that he couldn't see Konoka as he did so. He seated himself and hastily yanked the towel off, then upended a bucket of his own over his body, before he hastily started scrubbing himself off.

"Need any help, Negi-sensei?" Konoka asked.

"No need!" Negi hastily assured her, emptying nearly half the bottle of shampoo into his hair due to his nervousness. He was so nervous that he didn't even take note of the fact that he shampooed his own hair without hesitation, due to being so distracted from what he was doing.

"Okay. Let me know if you change your mind." Konoka told him, before she started washing her own hair, humming softly to herself.

Negi didn't respond to that, instead focusing fully on washing every single inch of his body in a desperate attempt to distract himself from the fact that there was a naked girl behind him. He didn't need Nekane to tell him that it wasn't okay for him to ogle naked girls. He and Nekane had taken baths together many times, but only rarely were either one of them naked at the time. He usually wore swimming trunks and Nekane usually had a swimming suit or at the very least a bikini on. It had been years since the two of them last bathed naked together.

"Could you give me a hand with my back, Negi-sensei?" Konoka asked after nearly ten minutes, Negi now being more clean then he could ever recall being, never having washed himself this thoroughly before.

"What!" he exclaimed in shock.

"Could you give me a hand and wash my back, Negi-sensei?" Konoka asked.

"T-t-t-t-t-th-th-t-that's..." Negi stuttered in abject horror.

"What's gotten you all high-strung, Negi-sensei?" Konoka asked, turning around to observe the back of the now madly stuttering young teacher.

"Y-y-y-yo-you're naked. It's not proper." he managed to get out. "I shouldn't be looking at naked girls. I'm sure my sister wouldn't approve!" he continued.

"It's okay if the girl agrees to it, Negi-sensei." Konoka sighed.

"What?" Negi asked, blinking in surprise.

"I don't mind, Negi-sensei. Besides, I do need a hand, I can't clean my own back properly." Konoka answered.

"But... I'm a gentleman, an English gentleman... Looking at girls is bad!" Negi protested weakly.

"You're cute, Negi-sensei." Konoka announced with a gentle chuckle. "It's bad if you do it without the girl knowing, or if she says no and you still do it." she explained. "But I don't mind and I do need your help. Should an English gentleman really refuse to help a damsel in distress?"

"Uh..." Negi started but trailed off. What she said did make a lot of sense. A proper gentleman should never refuse to assist a girl in need and if she truly didn't mind it, then perhaps looking wasn't as bad as he'd first thought. But he still hesitated and wished that he could have Nekane's advice right now. Heck, he'd even settle for Anya's advice although she would no doubt accompany the advice with teasing about being foolish. "Are you sure that it's all right?" he finally asked.

"I'm sure, Negi-sensei." Konoka insisted.

"Well... Okay." he replied and upended a second bucket over himself, washing the suds off his body and out of his hair, before he moved over, seating himself behind Konoka. "Uh... What should I do?" he asked, unsure of how to proceed. His baths with Nekane hadn't included washing her, they'd always washed themselves. At least as far back as he could recall.

"Put some of this on one of the washcloths and rub it over my back." Konoka instructed and handled him a bright yellow bottle and pointed at some washcloths to the left of her pail.

"All right." Negi agreed and did as he was told. "Your English is really good, Konoka-san." he complimented her after a minute of silence. "You speak it like a native."

"Thanks. My father always insisted on having me learn foreign languages as I grew up." she explained and shook her head. "English, Latin, French and I even know a bit of German."

"Latin?" Negi exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah. Like I'll ever have a use for that!" Konoka snorted.

"'Amicitiae nostrae memoriam spero sempiternam fore.'" Negi quoted with a faint smile on his lips.

"'I hope that the memory of our friendship will be everlasting.'" Konoka translated. "You know Latin, Negi-sensei?"

"A little bit." he admitted. He still had a lot of studying left to do, but as so much of western magic was based on Latin, it was unavoidable to become at least somewhat proficient in it. But he certainly hadn't expected one of his students to know any Latin. Just about the only ones to study Latin before university, were Magi. He wondered if perhaps Konoka was magical, before he shook it off as mere coincidence, chalking it up to having a weird father.

"You're an odd one, Negi-sensei." Konoka informed him. "I still can't get around the fact that you've graduated." she added with a bemused shake of her head.

"All done, Konoka-san." Negi finally responded, putting the washcloth down.

"Great. Thanks, Negi-sensei." Konoka told him as he moved away, wrapping the towel around his waist again as Konoka upended a bucket of water over herself.

All in all, it hadn't been as bad as he'd first thought. This was more like having a shower then taking a bath. He could get used to this.

"Coming, Negi-sensei?" Konoka asked and Negi was about to move off towards the changing rooms, before he realized that he could hear Konoka walk away both from him and the changing rooms he was walking towards. He turned around and blinked as he saw her walk towards the largest of the pools, carrying both the towels in her hands, uncaring of her nudity.

"Huh!" he grunted stupidly.

"Come on. We haven't bathed yet." Konoka told him and put the towels down, before she slid down into the water. Negi sighed and rubbed the back of his head, before he shuffled over towards the large pool. He looked distastefully at the water for a few moments, before he reluctantly followed Konoka's example and dropped the towel, then jumped into the water.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that the water was warm. He wasn't used to pools this large being heated to this degree, but although he found it odd to begin with, the sensation quickly grew on him. This was much better then the baths back home, he rapidly decided.

The two of them soaked for nearly half an hour, talking about this and that, switching between English and Japanese to give Negi an opportunity to practise his Japanese, seeing as how Konoka obviously didn't need much practise with her English, which was truly excellent considering her age.

After they were finished, the two of them walked outside for a brief stroll and to cool down a bit after the hot bath, before they made their way back to Konoka's room.

"Oh. Shh, Asuna is asleep." Konoka quietly announced as she opened the door and was greeted with darkness, as well as the soft sounds of Asuna breathing in her sleep.

"Already?" Negi whispered, glancing down at his wristwatch.

"Asuna delivers papers in the mornings, so she usually goes to bed early." Konoka replied and turned the lights on, which caused Negi's eyes to widen. "Oh, don't worry. She's quite the heavy sleeper. As long as we keep the volume down, she'll keep on sleeping." she explained and put the toiletries away, before she glanced around the room, surveying the domain with critical eyes.

"We can put a bed for you over there tomorrow." she decided out loud, regretting the loss of extra living space they had enjoyed. Since it was only she and Asuna who lived here, they had moved the third bed out to get a bit of extra space in their room. She then looked around again, assessing the situation. "But for tonight, I guess the couch will have to do. Is that okay, Negi-sensei?" she asked.

"Sure. Don't worry about me, Konoka-san." Negi replied. "The couch will be just fine." he assured her.

Though we all know the probability of Negi remaining on the couch all through the night, don't we?

The End! ( For now... )


End file.
